Muhammad Kara is a Policy Analyst at The Hope Center and a scholar of higher education and public policy. His work sits at the intersection of public policy, institutional decision-making, and student success, with a particular focus on how students navigate complex administrative systems and how institutional conditions shape access, opportunity, and outcomes.

Muhammad’s policy and research interests center on the ways policies and program design translate into lived experiences for students, especially when students must move across multiple complex systems. He brings a practitioner-informed perspective to policy analysis, grounded in the practical realities of implementation and the tradeoffs institutions face as they balance compliance, capacity, and equity.

Muhammad holds a B.S. in Political Science from the University of North Texas, a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from The George Washington University, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education from The Pennsylvania State University. Prior to his current role, he served as a Program Analyst with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).